Day 1 ended relatively early as I skipped out on the headliner, making it back to my hotel room around midnight. The next morning, I ignored the running gear I took the time and space to pack, and slept in as much as I could to prepare for another long day of the metar. I also used this time to lose monies at the Pai Gow table. I half expected there to be some blackjack tables inside the venues, but thankfully they kept all of the gambling separate from the music. Instead, they opted to try and rob me a different way by trying to charge me $8 for a small bottle of Fiji. GTFO.
Myrkur
Myrkur, or Amalie Bruun, has endured a lot of flack from the metal community. She's gotten so much hate and death threats that she turned off her Facebook messenger. If there were any haters attending this show, they were either respectful and kept their mouths shut, or they didn't have the balls to speak out in public. The anonymity that the webernets provides can sometimes lead to some truly revolting behavior.
I've seen Myrkur once before opening for Behemoth. Unfortunately, it was a Friday night and parking was a pain in the arse that night. I strolled in about halfway through her set. This time I was able to see a full set, and she had new material to boot.
Myrkur's angelic clean singing was complemented by a black metal scream straight out of the depths of hell. She would pick up the guitar at points during the show, and also had a solo moment with just her singing while on the keys. It was great to see a full set from her finally, and it was a treat.
Carcass
This was my first time seeing British death metal legends, Carcass. I missed them on tour when they ruinited for Surgical Steel in 2013, and they haven't released a new album since then. Since there was no new material, it was just like
I've always liked Carcass, but was never a big superfan. Some bands that play live, they just "have it." They don't do anything in particular that is special, like a unique light show, or insane stage presence, but just something about their live show clicks. Carcass is one of those bands that just looks like they've been doing this for years (they have), and are very comfortable on stage, and it all translates well to a great live show.
Gojira
This was my second time seeing Gojira, and this time up close! I wasn't a big fan of their latest album, Magma (clean singing, why?!). The new material was just ok live, but overall it was a banger of a set.
Christian Andreu (lead guitar, not pictured) just looked so happy and appreciative of everyone in the crowd, with big smiles and pointing and waving at audience members. The Duplantier brothers were also on point the entire night. Groove is often used to describe da funk, but it fits perfectly in this context. Gojira were so tight and grooved so damn hard, not a single note sounded out of place.
King Diamond
Day 2 headliner, and headliner of the entire festival, was the legendary King Diamond. The King fully embraces the cheeseball asthetic of old school heavy metal. Pictured here was the opening song Welcome Home, with the King singing to "Grandma" played by actress Jodi Cachia. After they went through a few of their hits, they played Abigail in its entirety.
The King is an absolute legend, but he definitely shows his age. Some of his stage moves are corny and dated, but it all fits within the context of his shtick. The biggest issue was the mains cutting out for a second or two at a time. It wasn't the band's fault, and to their credit they kept playing as if nothing was wrong. The band didn't make a stink out of it, and being the professionals that they are, they played on as if nothing was wrong. A great headlining set from one of heavy metal's legends. All hail the King!!
Gost
This was my second time (out of three) seing Gost this year. Right after King Diamond, a few of us that were still ready to party funneled into the Vinyl room. The King's set ended around 130am, so we ended up waiting that long half hour before Gost finally took the stage.
I was up against the barricade for this up close and personal show. Nothing has really changed from the last time I saw him except maybe a song or two. There was a moment during the show where it looked like he jumped up and landed wrong. He writhed in agony for a second or two, and then got over it and jumped right back up as if nothing was wrong. At the time I thought it was just part of the show, but the next day I saw on Facebook that he thought he broke or tore something in his knee. Dude brought it so hard, he hurt himself.